Mapping the country's charging points

This news article was published under
the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Plug-in charge points to be mapped across the country.

The locations of charging points for plug-in vehicles are to be systematically mapped across the country to make it easier for motorists to go electric, Transport Minister Norman Baker and Business Minister Mark Prisk announced today.

The national chargepoint registry, to be developed by POD Point - a UK-based chargepoint manufacturer - will be a publicly-accessible database of chargepoints across the UK. Alongside this, a new system - the central whitelist - will be created to make it easier for motorists to access each chargepoint without having to sign up to new schemes each time they charge in a different location.

Norman Baker said:

We know there is public appetite out there for plug-in vehicles and as government we’re doing everything possible to make them a real option for both motorists and industry.

This registry will get us away from the mind-set of; will I, won’t I get there? And I’m sure that public and private chargepoint owners alike will get behind the initiative because the more information we have up there the more motorists will be encouraged to make the switch to electric.

The central whitelist offers charging scheme operators a really straightforward way to share membership card details - it will enable their members to access chargepoints outside their ‘home’ charging scheme. This freedom to roam between charging schemes is a very important step forward for the plug-in vehicle market.

There is no doubt that low-carbon vehicles are here to stay, we will continue to work with industry to create a world-leading charging network that really reflects the needs of its users.

Mark Prisk said:

The national chargepoint registry delivers our commitment to make it easier for motorists considering ultra low carbon cars to access charge points and so encourage their take-up.

This is a real opportunity for companies to use the data in innovative ways while meeting consumer demand for information which will help them get to their destinations.

The registry will allow businesses to innovate and provide products, such as satnav and mobile apps, for plug-in vehicle owners to access. Motorists will then know where and how they can charge along their journey, so addressing concerns about the range of vehicles and the new ‘central whitelist’ will increase people’s charging options - enabling members of a particular charging scheme (e.g. Source East) to easily access chargepoints in other areas of the country (e.g. the midlands).

Flora Heathcote, Commercial Director POD Point said;

Whilst we are perhaps best known as a charge point manufacturer, half our business is actually software development. We were the first company to introduce networked charge points to the UK, and currently run several of the charge point networks across the UK.

We are delighted to be selected by OLEV to create the central charge point network, and believe this cements our position as the leading developer of charge point management systems in Europe.

Notes to editors

The development of a national chargepoint registry and central whitelist was a commitment made in the government’s Infrastructure strategy published earlier this year.

POD Point has been awarded a contract worth £89 thousand (excluding VAT). They will be hosting the data on a server, and are creating systems that will allow plug-in vehicle recharging schemes to easily upload and download information. They will also place data from the national chargepoint registry on data.gov.uk and will create a system that allows real time interrogation of this data by mobile devices such as mobile phones and in car navigation systems.

The central whitelist will be a registry of membership card information for different recharging membership schemes (e.g. for regional schemes such as Plugged-In Places). The registry will make it easier for card holders to access chargepoints across the country, and potentially internationally, without having to sign up to new schemes each time they charge in a different location (provided the schemes in question have developed the necessary commercial arrangements).

Neither of the systems will store data of a personal nature (such as names, addresses or bank details).

Both systems are due to go live early next year. The project will develop and deploy the national chargepoint registry and central whitelist for a period of approximately 24 months after which it is expected that responsibility for the system will transfer over to the plug-in vehicle infrastructure industry.

The government has a £30 million fund to kick-start installation of recharging points in 8 areas across the country. The Plugged-In Places projects are installing infrastructure in London, Milton Keynes, north east England, the Midlands, Greater Manchester, the east of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The government has made provision of over £400 million to promote the uptake of ultra-low carbon vehicle technologies. This includes approximately £80 million supporting research and development activities; £30 million for the installation of infrastructure; and, subject to review, provision of around £300 million to support consumer incentives for the life of the Parliament.

The Plug-in Car Grant is a consumer grant of up to £5,000, or 25% of the value of the car, which consumers can benefit from directly at the point of purchase.

The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) is a cross-Whitehall team that has been established to manage this programme of measures. Comprising people and funding from the Departments for Transport; Business, Innovation and Skills; and Energy and Climate Change; OLEV is responsible for taking forward a national policy on this shared agenda.